Erin Wasson: Girl Without a Pearl Earring

Well, she may not be wearing a pearl earring, but model Erin Wasson did, in fact, wear a singular earring at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (a custom Nak Armstrong aquamarine, gold and emerald piece,) and she has a head wrap on, with her braid emulating the undulating fabric trailing behind Vermeer's subject.

The actual "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is one of mystery; we're left to wonder about who she is and her relationship to the painter, but also her dress is completely modest. Wasson, however, while working the headwrap-and-earring situation, managed to appear less mysterious than her presupposed inspiration and showed us, well, almost everything. Here she is, in her sheer glory:

Okay, eyes up here, kids.

Lack of mystery aside, I'm actually digging what's happening up north. I'm all for an art-world reference that isn't too literal, and I'm into her source of inspiration. Plus, I'm generally impressed by a fishtail braid, the un-prickly and successful completion of which still eludes me. This might be one to copy when the wind starts to bring a chill, and our ears get cold. Or! Even better, made sporty for on the slopes, it'll keep the hair conveniently out of your face, your ears toasty, and your look as fresh as the just-fallen powder.

Talk about modern art.

Images via Wikimedia Commons and Getty Images.